Dragonfly
Common Green Darner
Anax junius
The migrating jet of North American ponds.
Least ConcernIUCN status
56.0km/h top speed
10.0cm wingspan
7.6cm body length
1.0years lifespan
Speed against a 60 km/h scale — the ceiling for the fastest dragonflies.
A big, apple-green thorax with a blue abdomen, the green darner is the dragonfly most people meet first. It hunts on the wing all day and can hover, reverse and turn inside its own body length.
Habitat. Ponds, marshes and slow rivers across North America
Posts featuring Common Green Darner
🌊 Wings & Water
The Insect That Crosses an Ocean Without Any Individual Making the Trip
Pantala flavescens rides the monsoon between India and Africa in generational relays. No single glider sees both shores.
💠 Dragonfly Field Notes
Four Wings, Independently Controlled: How a Dragonfly Actually Flies
Each of a dragonfly's four wings has its own muscles, its own timing, and its own opinion. That is the whole trick.